


Sunshine

by Loverboy_Lance



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Because I didn't so I wrote this fic, Did you know there was more than one verse to you are my sunshine?, Doctor Will Solace, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hades (Percy Jackson) is a Good Parent, Hades (Percy Jackson) just wants to be a good dad, Hazel Levesque is a Good Sibling, Humor, Hurt Nico di Angelo, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I wrote this forever ago but my friend says it's good so here we are, I'm Bad At Tagging, Jason Grace Ships Nico di Angelo/WIll Solace, Kinda?, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Nico di Angelo and Will Solace are Dorks, Nico di Angelo is a Good Singer, Nico is a Dork, Nico is a sucker for McDonalds, Nico-centric, Percy Ships Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Persephone (Percy Jackson) is a Good Parent, Protective Nico, Solangelo is honestly couple goals, Songfic, Southern Will Solace, That's why there's too many tags, Three Days in the Infirmary (Percy Jackson), Well it ends up being more than three days, Will Solace is a Ball of Sunshine, Will Solace plays guitar, but i love the trope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:08:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23913604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loverboy_Lance/pseuds/Loverboy_Lance
Summary: Will is Nico's sunshine. What happens when you take that sunshine away?In other words, Will dies and Nico decides he can't live without him.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 3
Kudos: 65





	1. Those Fools

**Author's Note:**

> All of the chapter titles come from different verses of "You Are My Sunshine".  
> So I found out that there's more than one verse to "You Are My Sunshine". Who knew? Not me!  
> The first thing I decided was that I had to make a fic. Then the lyrics cursed me and I made it sad. Oops.  
> Anyways, I wrote this all the way back in the old age of January 2019, so it's not amazing. And wow, the amount of editing I've had to do on Will's speech is _ridiculous_. Basically I wrote him with a heavy southern accent because that's how I imagine him but the grammar and spelling was atrocious as a result of that and I decided to redo it to make it easier to read. So that was fun.
> 
> This is a five-chapter fic, at least as I wrote it, so I'm going to just upload it as five chapters. Don't know why I felt the need to say that but whatever, I've said it now.  
> Hope you guys enjoy the fic!

_You are my sunshine…_

I sang softly, clutching a pillow from my bed. Tears streamed down my face, and the sounds of a guitar played through my imagination.

_My only sunshine…_

My fingers twitched, longing to run through nonexistent hair, braiding flowers into it.

_You make me happy…_

With that line came a sob. I sang the line again, changing it.

_You made me happy, when skies were grey…_

I paused, tears still streaming, before I continued.

_You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you…_

I knew why he wouldn't. It’s because I never told him.

_Please don’t take my sunshine away…_

I heard the door creak open, but I didn’t stop singing.

_The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping…_

I closed my eyes, not wanting to know who had come in.

_I dreamt I held you, in my arms…_

I had, which made me sob harder.

_When I awoke dear, I was mistaken…_

I felt arms around me, and I didn't even have the energy to shake whoever it was off.

_So I hung my head, and I cried._

I finally looked up to see my sister smiling down at me. I closed my eyes and kept singing.

_You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…  
You made me happy, when skies were grey…  
You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you…  
Please don’t take my sunshine away…_

I felt my sister’s hands braiding my hair, her voice whispering soothing nothings, but I ignored it and kept singing.

_I’ll always love you and make you happy…_

Or at least I would. I started sobbing again.

_If you will only say the same…_

You never could, though. Not anymore, at least.

_But if you leave me to love another…_

As he would. As he could.

_You’ll regret it all one day…_

I felt my sister now crying into my shoulder, but I was determined to finish the song.

_You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…  
You made me happy, when skies were grey…  
You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you…  
Please don’t take my sunshine away…_

As my sister started to stand, I sang one more verse. One that I made.

_But those fools, for they are fools dear…  
They don’t regret it, for they regret naught…  
They took my sunshine, my only sunshine…  
And I’d go to Hell again to have you here._

I distantly saw Hazel clasp a hand to her mouth and start crying fresh tears.

_You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…  
You made me happy, when skies were grey…  
You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you…  
Please don’t take my sunshine away…  
Please don’t take my sunshine away…_

“Oh, Nico,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

“What for?” I gave her a grim smile. “He’s not gone forever, I can get him back.”

“No, Nico, you can’t.”

“I’ll just ask Dad, he’ll give him back.”

“Nico…”

“He will! I just have to, I dunno, bribe him maybe?”

“Nico, how will you bribe a God?”

“Well, I’ll agree to family dinners first. I think his request was once every other month?”

Hazel sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Nico, he’s dead.”

“Yes, and I’m a demigod of death! Surely he wouldn’t mind?”

“I just don’t think you should do it. It’s not worth the risk.”

“You don’t understand!” I yelled. “I want him back! No, I NEED him back! Even if he doesn’t love me, he’s still one of my only friends!”

“Nico, I can’t let you go.”

“Oh? Give me one good reason why.”

“Don’t you understand? I can’t lose you! I can’t be the reason my brother dies!”

I stepped back, into a patch of shadow. “Hazel, you can’t stop me. I can’t be stopped. Goodbye, just in case.”

As I said the words, Hazel started sobbing and I disappeared into the shadows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so disclaimer, don't try singing the verse that I wrote along with the song. I may write music and poetry but that doesn't mean that it fits the song. I just liked the lyrics, that's all.


	2. I Held You

Stumbling out of the shadows, I blinked away tears. I couldn’t go bargain with Dad if I still had tears in my eyes. Once I got to the throne room, however, I took a moment to think.

Was I sure? Yes. I just didn’t know if Hades would agree to my… offer. I shrugged, sending up a quick prayer to Eros, and entered.

“Nico!” Persephone was quick to exclaim as she ran over to give me a hug. “What brings you here? And unannounced, no less?”

“I need to talk to Dad,” I whispered. “Something happened. I need help.”

“Oh. Well, I’m sure whatever it is will be fine, okay sweetie?”

I gave a weak nod as half of me wanted to shadow-travel away from this entirely, but I continued to the throne. Hades lifted his head to look at me, then smiled.

“Nico! Back so soon? Rethought my offer?”

“Yes, actually,” I said, obviously taking him by surprise. “But, uh, on a slight condition.”

“Anything, Nico, name your price.”

I sighed, muttering “anything?” under my breath before continuing. “Actually, it’s quite a big favour. You see, there’s this boy, Will Solace? Might’ve heard of him? Oh, who am I kidding? Of course you have! He, um, he’s kind of, well, he’s kind of… dead, I guess?”

“Oh Nico,” Hades said somberly. “You know I can’t… my brothers would kill me! Not to mention how mad The Fates would be, and no one wants to see that. I’m sorry, Nico, I really am.”

“But Dad!” He immediately turned to look at me, shocked that I was still trying. “You see, this isn’t just any boy in the world. I NEED him! He’s my sunshine!” 

Hades gave me a questioning look so I explained. “You know the song, don’t you? _You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy, when skies are grey. You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away._ Will is my sunshine! I need him!”

“So… you love this boy, this Will Solace?” I nodded, and he grinned. “I guess I can make an exception, just this once, with no strings attached. Just don’t expect too much for your birthday this year, got it?”

I nodded with an ecstatic smile and he looked at one of the skeletons around the room.

“Go get me one Will Solace, son of…” Hades looked at me expectantly.

“Apollo,” I provided, and I could’ve sworn he gave me a look of disgust.

“Will Solace, son of Apollo. Bring him here, and NO VIOLENCE!”

The skeleton nodded and then walked away, following a small stone tablet that appeared to be a map.

“So, Nico, how close are you and this Will?”

“Oh, we’re just friends.” My face erupted into a blush at the words, but I didn’t plan on elaborating.

“And how did he die?”

“Well, we’re demigods,” I said with a shrug. “Will was an idiot and tried to save someone he couldn’t. It’s just his nature, but he… he died trying to help them out of a battle. They lived, but he didn’t. And I can’t live without him.”

Just as Hades opened his mouth to ask another question, the skeleton walked back in.

“Will!” I exclaimed. “It really is you, isn’t it? Please tell me you’re actually here….”  
I ran over, pulling him into a tight hug, burying my head in his shoulder. I felt his breath on my neck as his hands pulled me in even closer, if that was possible, and I let out a sigh of relief.

“Yes, Neeks, I’m really here. My question is, why are you here? Please tell me you didn’t…”

“Don’t worry, Will, I didn’t. I thought about it, but I didn’t.” I pulled back slightly to look at his face and smiled. “You’re coming back with me, though. I didn’t go through all of this for you to not.”

“‘Course I’ll come back!” Will grinned. “Well, I have to. You probably have a week in the infirmary by now, knowing you.”

I blushed, and Hades cleared his throat. “If you two are ready, you can go.”

“Okay! Bye Dad, bye Persephone!”

Persephone gave me a knowing smile and winked, giving a small wave. Hades just shooed us out of the room and I shadow-traveled back to my cabin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm realizing now that this is not my best piece of work... oh well, I'm submitting it anyways.  
> If you really want to read the whole thing that's up to you, it just isn't amazing.


	3. How Much

“Okay, now you REALLY have a week in the infirmary,” Will said with a chuckle. “I can’t believe you did all of that for me. I know how much you dislike Hades, and I’m really sorry-”

“Why are you sorry, Will? If anyone should be sorry, it’s me. I got you killed and I’ll never forgive myself for that.”

“Neeks…”

“No, Will, I’m really sorry. I shouldn't have done what I did, and you paid for my mistake. I should know by now with all the speeches you give me not to overexert myself. I’m sorry.”

He put a hand on my cheek and gave me a soft smile. “Oh Neeks, I don’t think you get it.”

“What is there to get?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong. You NEVER do anything wrong, do you understand? You were doing perfect, but you passed out. ‘Least I was able to save you, right?”

I nodded weakly, his hand still cradling my face. Suddenly, as if he had just realized what he was doing, he dropped the hand from my cheek. I silently mourned the loss, but it was no big deal.

“Still have to get you to the infirmary, Neeks, but I can be a little more… lenient. If I see you’re fine after four days, I’ll let you go early. If not, you stay. Deal?”

“Deal,” I whispered. “Are we going now, or…”

“Now,” he said. Then he smiled and pulled me out of my cabin and into the sunlight.

\-----

“Will?” I saw Kayla, confused, as I was being dragged through halls to get to what Will liked to call ‘my room’ because I was here so often.

“Yeah, I’m back, I’m not dead, now move. I’ll ‘explain later, but I need to get the Ghost King here to his room.”

Kayla raised an eyebrow but stepped aside. “I’ll hold you to that. You better come explain how I saw your dead body, with no pulse mind you, and now you’re dragging poor Nico around the infirmary!”

I blushed, and Will kept going. Finally, we got to ‘my room’. Will practically shoved me inside, so I glared at him.

“I can stay here. I know you want to explain this all to Kayla.”

“No, I want to know what happened before I do that.” He smiled softly, and oh that smile, but that was beside the point. “If I don’t know what happened myself, how can I explain that to someone else? So, how long was I… dead, I guess.”

“Uh, about a week? Tops?” I grimaced at my own words, but I hadn’t been keeping track. It could’ve been a day, or a year, and I wouldn’t know the difference. It was just… pain.

“Neeks? I ‘sume you didn’t mean to say that out loud, but…”

Schist. “I-uh-what?! What did I say? Huh?”

“You said you weren’t keeping track of the days, wouldn’t have known the difference. ‘It was just… pain.’”

I groaned. “Okay, I admit. I don’t know how long you were dead. Ask Kayla or something, I lost track. I didn’t leave my cabin after I found out.”

Will’s face turned to one of shock. “Neeks! You didn’t leave your cabin for the Gods only know how long? Possibly a whole week? Did you even eat?”

“...Hazel brought me food. I don’t know how often, or even when she got here, but she did.” I lowered my head, almost in shame.

Will sighed in frustration, then looked at me again. “I’ll have to look into that, and might have to revoke my offer. Okay, since you don’t know how long, do you wanna tell me how?”

I decided to tell the truth - or at least, I would tell part of it. “I talked to my Dad, asked for you back, and he gave you back. I tried to bribe him but he refused, saying that he’d do it ‘with no strings attached’, whatever that means.”

“It means that there’s nothing that will happen to you - nothing bad, at least. I can’t believe he agreed to that!”

“He did say that it would make the other Gods mad, and the fates, but he said he’d make an exception for me just this once.”

Will shook his head. “Part of me - the sensible part, mind - is telling me that I’m making this up. You’re not tricking me though, are you? I really am back?”

“You are,” I assured him. “See?” I put one of my hands on his before I could think about the action, or its implications, and grinned.

“Guess I am.”

“So, you want to go talk to Kayla?”

“Only to find out how long you went without meals. I’ll probably have to talk to Hazel, too.”

“Okay, just don’t bring Hazel in here. At least, not yet.”

“Why?”

“It wouldn’t be good for my health,” I stated simply.

“Okay? Is there anything else you need?”

“No, is there anything you need?”

“I don’t think so, but I’ll be welcome to suggestions?”

“Well, you should probably just be a little more… is careful the right word? Yes, careful, your bones and such are much more fragile since you were just raised from the dead. Also, you’ll want to drink more calcium or stuff, I don’t know what makes bones stronger.”

“So just be careful and cultivate strong bones?” I let out a laugh at his wording, but he wasn’t wrong.

“Yes, just be careful and get strong bones.”

He grinned at my laughter and walked out the door, closing it gently. With a sigh, I laid down on the bed in the room and fell asleep.


	4. Say the Same

“Neeks, wake up.” I slightly opened one eye, and I saw Will beside my bed. “I brought food.”

“Food?” I asked, rubbing my eyes.

“Yes, food,” Will said with a grin. “I suppose you need it after sleeping for almost a day.”

“A day?!”

“Yes, a day. Now, eat. You need it.”

I took the bag from his hands, grinning. It was McDonalds. I still don’t know why, but I just love the place. As I was eating, Will talked to me.

“So, I went and talked to Hazel,” he started. “She said she got here about a week after I died - man, is that weird to say or what? - and Kayla said I was dead for like three weeks-ish.”

“I didn’t eat for a week?” I asked with a mouth full of cheeseburger.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. I was all, ‘Man, he didn’t eat for a week? How’s he still alive? And in good shape?’ But, you know, I realized you’ve done it before, so it’s nothing new really…”

As he continued to ramble on about my eating habits, I turned over his words in my head. ‘And in good shape?’ What was that supposed to mean? It must be a new term, one he hasn’t taught me yet.

“...and then Percy was all ‘Yeah Will, he locked himself in his cabin. Only let Hazel in. Even Jay couldn’t get through to him.’ Which is weird, by the way, ‘cause you always talk to him, so I was just thinking-”

“Will?”

He looked startled at my interrupting him, but answered me. “Yeah, Neeks?”

“What does it mean for one to be ‘in good shape’, as you put it?”

“Uh, well, I guess…” He scratched the back of his neck, which meant he was nervous. This was obviously something he didn’t expect me to ask. “It means they’re fit. They look good. Why?”

“I don’t know, I was just curious.” I went back to the food, thinking. Will was now silent, though not leaving.

So Will thought I looked good? I scrunched up my face trying to come up with a reason why he would. I’m so thin that you could count my ribs easily, I have bags under my eyes from an extremely irregular sleep schedule, and my hair was a mess. I was a mess! Yes, I could lift a sword, but that hardly said anything about how I looked! So what was going on here?

I finished the food and gave Will a smile. “So, am I on track for the four-day-plan? Or is that not a thing anymore?”

“I don’t think it’s a thing anymore, Neeks,” he said softly. “You didn’t eat for a week, were probably not sleeping, shadow-traveled to and from the Underworld in less than an hour, all while on pure adrenaline, and then slept for a day. I think you’ll be in here a week, at least.”

“Okay.”

“I have to go for now, I’ll be back in a bit. Okay?”

I smiled and nodded, knowing that he just wanted to think about our conversation, and he left. I had some similar thinking to do too, after all.

\-----

“I’m back!” Will walked through the door, not even bothering to ask if I was okay with this. He didn’t need to; we both knew that I was.

“Will?” I asked. I had a few… questions after my thinking.

“Yeah Neeks?”

“Have you ever liked anyone?” I blurted out.

He stood there for a moment in shock, trying to work out an answer, before deciding. “Yes.”

“What were they like? Did they like you too?”

“I don’t know,” he confessed. “I hope he does, but I don’t know.”

“He?” I was… not shocked, that’s not the word. No, I was just surprised.

“I’m sorry, that’s probably not something you agree with, I forgot you’re from the 30s. It’s just… I can’t help it.”

“Neither can I,” I blurted out.

It was Will’s turn to look surprised now, though his shock looked slightly hopeful. “You’ve liked someone, then?”

“Yes…” I whispered.

“Who?”

“Percy. Now I like someone else.”

“Who now?”

“Well, considering you didn’t tell me yours…”

“Fine. I have an idea.” I glanced up at him, questioning. “We’ll both say it at the same time.”

I thought for a moment, then decided it couldn’t hurt. Looking at everything, I at least had a chance.

“Okay, in that case… on the count of three! Three… two… one…” We were both silent, almost second-guessing the choice. Then we started laughing. “Now I’m just disappointed in both of us!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll do it this time,” I said with a chuckle.

“You better,” Will joked. “Three… two… one…”

“You!” We both said in unison. Then we stared.

“That went better than I expected,” I admitted.

“Yeah.” Will grinned. “Does this give me permission to kiss you now?”

“If you don’t I might die,” I said. “And you don’t have a way to get me back, so we don’t want that.”

Without responding, he connected our lips. One of us sighed, though I don’t know which it was. When we finally pulled apart it was because of a shout at the door.

“Finally!” It was Kayla. “Took you two dorks long enough!”

Will rolled his eyes, still holding my hand but now looking at Kayla. Wait, he was holding my hand? When did that happen?

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Oh, just that the whole camp was waiting for it to happen. You two were the only ones who didn’t see it, and it was only a matter of time. Now I have to go tell the Stolls, they owe me ten drachmas.”

Before we could even ask what the exact bet was, or how she knew that she won, she was gone. Will shook his head.

“I don’t know.” He said, in answer to my unasked question. I laughed.

“Well, if they come looking for proof we’re busy. Close the door, we have to catch up on some missed time.”


	5. Chapter 5

The camp was in chaos.

Not as much chaos as if one of the cabins was on fire (which is why the Hephaestus cabin is made of metal), but it was pretty close. There were people dashing all over camp exchanging all sorts of trinkets and money as we walked out of the infirmary.

Will had decided that I needed some ‘fresh air’ after breathing his for so long, but I think he just wanted to cause chaos. Maybe it was because I had been around him so much recently and his Apollo had rubbed off on me (which is horrible if it did), but I wanted to cause chaos too.

This means that I hadn’t pulled away, but instead had actually returned, the kiss that he gave me in the middle of camp. There was no denying or hiding it now, we were a thing. That actually sent a jolt of electricity down my spine, and I grinned. He was mine, and I was his. It was almost too good to be true.

I heard someone crying and turned towards the sound: it was Percy. I was barely able to make out what he was saying as he handed what appeared to be a fair bit of money to Jason.

“Our little Nico is all grown up…” he paused to sniffle. “And he has his first boyfriend! Jay, can you believe it?”

Jason chuckled as he took the money. “Sure can, Perce. That’s why I put such a hefty sum in their favour! I don’t even know why you took the side that they’d be oblivious forever.”

Moving on, there was especially chaos in the Apollo cabin. There appeared to be a betting pool, and about half of the cabin was feeling pretty high and mighty because of it.

I think I love chaos even more now, because I get to cause it just by loving Will. It wasn’t even our fault really, but we loved it.

\-----

It took a few months of convincing, but I finally got Chiron to allow Will to stay in my cabin.

“It’s for my health,” I stated. “He keeps me from being an idiot, and he makes sure I take care of myself. I don’t see what could go wrong.”

“Fine,” Chiron said with a sigh. “I guess I can let you guys stay in the same cabin. It’s not like there’s anyone else in there with you anyways, and you guys are practically attached at the hip.”

“Can I sit at the Apollo table too?” I asked.

“I guess. I don’t see any issue with it.”

As I turned to leave, Chiron stopped me with a smile. “Also, tell him I said congratulations. To both of you.”

“Thanks Chiron.”

\-----

As I stepped into my - our - cabin, I sighed. “Will!”

“Yeah?”

“Chiron says you’re allowed to stay and that I can- what are you wearing?”

He let out a snort, and showed me his hands. “I like ‘em.”

“Those are my gloves, Will.”

“And that’s my jacket, Neeks,” Will pointed out.

“Yeah, well… that’s different.” He quirked an eyebrow as if to say ‘is it really?’ “Fine, maybe not, but still! I like those!”

“And I like my jacket,” he said with a shrug. “So maybe we can swap?”

I sighed. “I like your jacket…”

“These aren’t the right size anyways,” he conceded, handing over the gloves. I put them on with a smirk, then I remembered what I was saying.

“As I was saying, I can sit at the Apollo table. And Chiron says congratulations.”

“Really? He… actually approves?”

I shrugged. “Does it really matter? We have each other, we don’t need other people’s opinions too.”

Will just stared at me for a moment, before answering, “You’re right. I’m just happy to have you, Neeks.”

As he pulled me in his arms, I whispered in his ear, “Did I ever tell you how much I hate the ‘Ghost King’ nickname?”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I always have.”

“You should’ve said something!”

I buried my head in his shoulder. “But I didn’t.”

He sighed. “Alright, fair. Now, you’re tired. Go to bed.”

“Join me?”

He grinned. “Life’s too short to say no.”

As we laid down in bed, I whispered, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Neeks. Now go to bed.”

“Alright, Sunshine.”

He kissed my forehead lightly and wrapped an arm around my waist as we were both claimed by sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, it's over! The amount of editing I had to do on Will's speech was ridiculous, but that's done now! If you enjoyed it that's great, if you didn't that's fine too! Honestly I don't know how much _I_ enjoyed it while reading back through it so that's understandable. Either way, safe travels my fellow fic readers!


End file.
